Carrying capacity of source water bodies_ a planning tool for sustainable brackishwater aquaculture

Abstract

Carrying capacity (CC) of the environment is a key element in many definitions of sustainable development. Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF, 2002) defined Ecosystems CC' (ECC) as the maximum rate of resource consumption and waste discharge that can be sustained indefinitely in a defined planning region without progressively impairing bio-productivity and ecological integrity and provides the physical limits to economic development. CC has been contemplated both the basis for and a tool to execute sustainable development (Weitzman and Filgueira, 2020). The assessment of CC in source water bodies is of the foremost important factor in the sustainable development of aquaculture. FAO Technical Consultation on Policies for Sustainable Shrimp Culture held in Bangkok in 1997 recommended that suitable research must be undertaken to estimate the CC of coastal ecosystems for shrimp culture, particularly the application of this knowledge to local areas (FAO, 1998). In many of the environmental assessment guidelines, it is required to determine the relationship between new developmental programs and ECC. CC is mentioned explicitly or implicitly in codes of conduct and codes of practices for sustainable shrimp farming. Fast shrimp aquaculture growth has fueled apprehensions over the use of source water bodies exceeding its CC, and consequent failure of shrimp culture (Ross et al., 2013). Hence, it is vital to assess the supporting water bodies capacity to assimilate the nutrients levels while developing aquaculture. The CC estimates will be of huge help to the shrimp farming and government agencies dealing with environmental regulation and land use planning. Although CC may not be an immediate problem for the water bodies in some areas where shrimp culture being practiced, but is expected to become a significant issue with the increase in activity levels.